Patterson handed Miller two canisters and while he and Sawyer kept a look out for any surviving Space Rats that might attack, Miller activated the canisters and lobbed them into different areas of the bottom level. The canisters clattered on the floor and rolled noisily. Alerted by the sound, insects converged on the canisters. Their tiny feet clicking on the floor revealed their positions in the fog that shrouded them from view. The lighter death gas seeped through the thicker ground mist, filled the lower level and seeped into the one above.
When five minutes had passed, Miller secured the rope Patterson passed him to the banister and climbed over. He was astonished by the impossibly tall aliens he gazed at when he slid down to the lower level. His light and weapon searched the room below when his feet touched the floor. When he was satisfied, as far as he could judge, the area was clear of danger, he indicated for the two men on the balcony to come down.
Their feet crunched on the insect carcasses littering the floor when they headed for the cargo bay. Their lights and ears continually scanned the fog-cloaked room for signs of insect activity. They reached the cargo bay door and peered into the large chamber. Though a few dead insects were seen around the entrance, when they moved past the first row of crate stacks they saw thousands were still alive. Some crawled over the storage pods and floor, but most were converged around the air lock at the far end of the room where they saw the chance of a meal.
Miller took the last two gas canisters from the bag while Sawyer and Patterson kept watch. He threw one amongst the crates and rolled the other along the floor towards the airlock. Gas spewed out as it rolled and spread throughout the room. The insects turned towards the sound and the nearest converged on the canisters. The alarm was raised when the men were spotted and an army of insects scurried towards them. Sawyer shot three egg-laden females preparing to fire their deadly payload. Patterson dispatched two more with a short burst of bullets at each.
Miller glanced at his watch.
“What shall we do, Lieutenant?” asked Patterson nervously, his weapon sweeping the front edge of the seeping gas that hid the insects. It wasn’t so much the dying that scared him, though he would rather not, it was the agonizing death the insects dispatched to their victims that had him so worried.
“Hold your ground,” ordered Miller, glancing at his watch. “Another twenty seconds and we’re safe.”
Patterson forced himself not to retreat a few steps. “What if they reach us in fifteen?”
Sawyer smiled at the worried soldier. “Stamp on them.”
“Ten seconds,” announced Miller. He glanced at the approaching swarm when they emerged from the gas cloud only fifteen yards away. They had crawled through the gas so they had to be affected. He turned his focus back upon his watch and counted down. “Five. Four. Three. Two…”
The insects continued towards them.
“Lieutenant!” said Patterson, his voice higher than he would have wished. “They’re not stopping.”
“Back up. It can’t be much longer now.”
Patterson voiced his worries aloud as he backed away from the insect hoard now only six feet away. “What if it’s a dud canister and the gas ain’t no good?”
Sawyer squashed the one that spurted forward with a stamp of his boot.
The lieutenant was about to order the retreat when some of the insects stopped. “It’s working.”
“About bloody time,” Patterson sighed.
A wave of death swept over the hoard until they had all succumbed.
Miller scanned the top of the storage crates now hidden by the rising cloud of gas. He detected no movement. “Let’s do a sweep of the room to make sure they’re all dead before opening the airlock. The gas becomes harmless after exposure to the air for fifteen minutes, so we can’t open it until then.”
Lieutenant Miller led the two men through the gaps between the storage containers.
CHAPTER 10
An Uneasy Alliance
AS LUCY SLOWLY regained her senses, she became conscious of the throbbing pain in her head and groaned. The second sensation she experienced was something prodding her. Fearing a monster was trying to eat her, her eyes sprung open and she lashed out an arm. The pink creature dodged back and whimpered while it rubbed its arm where it had been struck. When Lucy sat and pressed herself against the wall, she noticed movement in the air. The winged demons circled and watched her, waiting for an opportunity to attack. She glanced around for the club. It was over an arm’s length away. With her eyes fixed on the pink creature in case it attacked, she reached for the inadequate weapon.
The creature’s eyes followed her groping hand. It picked up the club in one of its elongated hands equipped with three fingers and a thumb tipped with small claws and handed it to Lucy.
Confused by the creature’s action, Lucy stared at its expectant smiling face. The blood-tinged smile and its large upward slanted eyes dotted with small red pupils were unnerving. It was like the smile of a murderer about to claim its next victim.
While she pondered her next move, Lucy studied the creature. It had four limbs—two arms and legs attached to powerful hips that jointed at the knee and ankle. Its feet were elongated even more than its hands, and its toes were three small hooves. Even with all its obvious alien differences, including the yard-long tail that swayed snake-like behind it, the creature had a surprising human appearance. This was probably due in part to the smooth, hairless, pink skin that covered its body. Though there was no sign of sexual organs, Lucy had the impression the creature was female and meant her no harm, as it could have easily killed her when she was unconscious.
“Thank you,” Lucy said, softly.
The creature tilted its head to one side, brushed back the hair that fell across its face in a surprisingly human motion, and stared at her. It backed away a few cautious steps when Lucy slowly climbed to her feet. She wasn’t sure how long she had been unconscious, but she felt a little refreshed and some of her strength had returned. Now, if only she could find something to eat and drink.
Lucy glanced at the gruesome Demon Bat corpses a short distance away and guessed her new friend was responsible and the reason the circling creatures didn’t attack. Shredded flesh on one of the corpses indicated Pinky had been snacking while she was out. She turned and faced the door she wanted to enter. A barge with her shoulder failed to move it. Whatever held it closed would require more than her strength to open it.
The creature tugged her arm and beckoned for Lucy to follow. Though reluctant to do so, the creature hadn’t shown any sign it meant to harm her thus far so Lucy followed it over to the ledge. The creature moved on all of its four limbs. Hard lumps on its knuckles protected its skin from tearing on the rough rock. It climbed down the vines headfirst, using its tail to grip the vines for extra support. Lucy climbed down in the conventional human manner and followed the creature that kept glancing back to make sure she was coming. Lucy looked across the rocky landscape at the strange building she was being led towards and wondered what the creature’s intention was. It seemed to be intelligent; it had known she wanted the club and fetched it for her. It had also saved her from the Demon Bats. She glanced up. The flying creatures followed their progress, but made no attempt to attack; they obviously feared the pink creature, which, in a way, worried Lucy. If it had dispatched five of them so easily, a human armed with a simple wooden club would pose it no problem. She again sought some solace from the fact that the creature hadn’t harmed her when she had been unconscious.